The much loved mystic and poet Khwaja Abdullah Ansari (1006 – 1088 CE) was from Herat in western Afghanistan. For more about him, see this earlier post.

The one You kill,
Lord,
Does not smell of blood,
And the one You burn
Does not reek of smoke.

He You burn laughs as he burns
And the one You kill,
As You kill him,
Cries out in ecstasy.

Translation Andrew Harvey and Eryk Hanut